Ex-Astronaut Tapped for NASA Job

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, January 30, 2002

Former astronaut Charles Bolden, a major general in the Marines, has been picked for NASA's No. 2 job.

President Bush announced his intention Thursday to nominate Bolden as deputy administrator of the space agency.

Bolden would serve under Sean O'Keefe, NASA's new chief.

"I could not ask for a more qualified partner to help lead this great agency," O'Keefe said in a statement. "His management and leadership skills in the fields of aeronautics and space technology will play a vital role in charting a new course for America's space program."

Bolden, 55, is commanding general of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in San Diego. He flew as a space shuttle pilot in 1986 and 1990 and as a shuttle commander in 1992 and 1994. He also served as assistant deputy administrator at NASA headquarters in Washington.

He left NASA and returned to active duty in the Marine Corps in 1994.

Before becoming an astronaut in 1980, Bolden was a Marine pilot in Vietnam and went on to become a test pilot.